Appeals Court Delivers Blockbuster Ruling on Voter ID

Texas may continue requiring voter identification numbers for mail-in ballot applications, according to a ruling issued Monday by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision marks a significant legal victory for state Republicans amid ongoing national debates over election integrity. The court rejected challenges brought by the Biden administration and left-wing voting advocacy groups, who argued that the ID verification process created unnecessary obstacles for voters. However, the panel of three judges concluded that the rule serves a legitimate purpose: ensuring the authenticity of mail-in ballots.

Judge James Ho wrote the court’s opinion, which stated that the statute seemed to have been written to make sure that every mail-in voter could be verified as the person he claimed to be. The court did not share the critics’ concerns that the condition was irrelevant under the Civil Rights Act. A previous injunction that had been temporarily halted since December 2023 is essentially lifted by the decision.

The voter ID match requirement is part of a sweeping election integrity law passed by Texas Republicans in 2021 in response to widespread public concern about irregularities in the 2020 election. The law mandates that applicants provide a driver’s license or Social Security number that matches existing state records when requesting a mail-in ballot.

Although the Biden Justice Department and various progressive groups alleged the law disproportionately affects certain voters, the court noted that such claims failed to demonstrate any constitutional violation. During oral arguments in February, the panel reportedly raised no objections to the state’s arguments, an indication of the case’s weakness.

The Democratic National Committee, the Texas Civil Rights Project, Disability Rights Texas, and the American Civil Liberties Union supported the Biden DOJ in its case. In addition to outside legal assistance from Jones Day and the America First Policy Institute, the statute was defended by the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The case, United States v. Paxton, was decided on August 4, 2025, under docket number 23-50885. The ruling was handed down the same day Attorney General Paxton expressed support for a Texas House resolution that permits the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who refuse to attend legislative sessions. The resolution targets those who have fled the state in protest of Republican-led redistricting efforts and voting reforms.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker made the historic pledge that Illinois would safeguard the Democrats from Texas who had fled to his state. While it was implied that Ken Paxton might not have been abiding by the law, Pritzker insisted that the correct procedures were being followed during a press conference on Sunday night.

The remarks were made alongside several of the absent Texas lawmakers who traveled to Illinois to deny the Texas legislature a quorum needed for advancing Republican legislation. Despite the political grandstanding, Monday’s court decision serves as a clear indication that Texas is within its legal authority to verify the identity of mail-in voters, a safeguard many conservatives have argued is essential to preserving election integrity.

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